Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 11: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has set aside an order of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Rajouri, issuing process against two J&K Bank officials in a criminal complaint, observing that the trial court had acted in a perfunctory manner and without proper judicial scrutiny.
Justice Rajnesh Oswal passed the order in a petition filed by Jasmeet Singh, then Branch Manager of J&K Bank’s Kotranka Branch, and Mohd Shafi Salroo, then Zonal Head, Jammu West Zone, Rajouri, who had challenged the complaint proceedings and the order dated October 27, 2018.
The complaint alleged that one of the bank officials had taken Rs 2.50 lakh from the complainant on the promise of arranging a job and that later both officials threatened and abused him. Acting on the complaint and preliminary statements, the trial court had issued process for offences under Sections 420, 504 and 506 RPC.
However, the High Court found major gaps in the complaint, noting that the complainant had failed to mention the exact date, time and place of the alleged payment and had not disclosed any basis for alleging that one officer acted on the instructions of the other. The Court held that such bald and unsupported assertions did not disclose sufficient prima facie material.
The Court also rejected the contention that prior sanction under Section 197 CrPC was necessary, holding that while bank officials may fall within the definition of public servants, they cannot claim protection of Section 197 in prosecution for offences under IPC/RPC in the present context.
Relying upon the Supreme Court judgment in Pepsi Foods Ltd. Versus Special Judicial Magistrate, the High Court reiterated that summoning an accused in a criminal case is a serious matter and that Magistrates are required to carefully scrutinise the complaint and evidence before issuing process.
Holding that the summoning order suffered from a “fundamental lack of application of mind,” the High Court set aside the order dated October 27, 2018. At the same time, the Court clarified that the complaint itself was not being quashed and remitted the matter back to the trial court for fresh consideration in accordance with law.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
